Cool Cars

There were some cool cars in the parking lot next door the other day. The white Corvette and the '57 Chevy were show stoppers; the Benz, the Mini-Cooper convertible, and the T-Bird were pretty neat as well. Car envy?? Or mere appreciation??

Ft. Pierce, FL

While John and Jessie were here we drove down to Ft. Pierce to see manatees, and by golly a few were there. Always a special treat to see them!

A beautiful statue but no marker to tell us why it was there. We guessed it was to honor the sport fishing industry in Ft. Pierce, but why would we need to guess?

A Seminole family diorama in the history museum.

And here is our tour guide and chef for the gourmet picnic we all enjoyed.

Visit from the DePasquales

John and Jessie came for a visit in late January. During the visit John, with the power invested in him (by him)conferred upon me the status of honorary Italian, for which I am extremely proud and grateful. Sadly, the Italian grandmother or aunt who can really cook has not yet showed up here.

What, me worry???

Farmers Market

The Farmers Market at Humiston Park in Vero Beach is a Saturday morning tradition here. As the season progresses there are more vendors, but even now there are plenty of veggies, fruit, fresh citrus juices, meat, fish, flowers, etc. to make the visit interesting.

Here's Nikki in her robin's egg blue ensemble checking out the first vendor.

Lots of fruit and veggies. This is usually the most popular and congested stand.

This is the stand of our favorite citrus market -- Countryside Market. Best orange juice I have ever had, and their tangelo juice is even better!

A little bluegrass music to lift the spirits.

Nana Tootsie's Jelly.......

A late breakfast......

...and the best artisan bread in town!

Smoke From a Distant Fire

Due to a lack of big storms and hurricanes last summer it is dry here in Indian River County, very dry. In spite of more than a half inch of rain last Friday we still have a rainfall deficit of almost 14". Earlier this month there were several brush, swamp, and forest fires just north of us in Brevard County. Due to a north wind we experienced a couple of smoky days, although the sunsets were quite pretty.

Thanksgiving with the Bottsmiths

Nikki and I had a wonderful Thanksgiving with Brian, Kelly, Henry, Charlie, and Peggy (Kelly's Mom).

Games were played...

Turkey was cooked (Kelly's turkey was about the best we've ever enjoyed!)....



and our family dinner was enjoyed by all!

Dinner with Rebecca and Will

Just before Christmas we had dinner with Rebecca Upham (former Head of The Ellis School) and her hubby, Will Viner, and Will's dad and stepmom at Orchid Island Club. It was a holiday treat to spend some time with Rebecca and Will after so many years and a special treat to get to know the Viners. Their house is on a tributary of the Indian River and their spectacular terrace looks across the water to a mangrove forest. Mr. Viner calls it the "back porch."